Manufacturer and insurer disclosure of prescription drug costs

The notice must be provided at least 60 days prior to the increase to the purchasers who have registered with the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance to receive notification. In addition to notifying the purchasers, the manufacturer must provide OCI with specified information about the increase, including the financial and nonfinancial factors used to make the decision to increase the drug's cost. Under the bill, a drug manufacturer must also notify OCI if the manufacturer releases a new drug whose wholesale acquisition cost exceeds the specialty drug tier threshold under the Medicare Part D program, which is currently $670 for a one-month supply.

The bill directs OCI to publish the information it receives from manufacturers about cost increases and high-cost new drugs on its website. A manufacturer who fails to report information to OCI may be liable for a penalty of $1,000 for each day of the failure.

Second, the bill requires that an insurer issuing health insurance coverage in this state annually file a report with OCI that identifies which of the plan's covered drugs have the highest prescription rates and costs and, for large group plans, provides information about the relationship between prescription drug costs and premium rates. The bill directs OCI to use this information to annually compile a report that analyzes the overall impact in this state of drug costs on health care premiums. The report must be distributed to the legislature and published on OCI's website.